《书目》(Booklist)书评

Gr. 3-6. A teenager's struggle to reestablish his trust in God is the focus of this novel, which is set in the early 1500s during the persecution of the Anabaptists (later to become the Mennonites). When his mother is imprisoned for her beliefs, 15-year-old Adriaen wrestles with thoughts of why a just God allows suffering. In trying to find a way to rescue her, he faces the dilemma of whether to betray the leader of the Anabaptists or to embrace a faith that could cost him his own life. The plot is compelling, with the unfolding of events transforming an initially unsympathetic boy into a courageous young man. But the story is most effective in its final scenes, which serve as a catharsis for Adriaen's grief and anger. Having received a letter from his mother encouraging him to follow Christ, Adriaen accepts God's will, fully expecting to witness his mother's execution. --Shelly Townsend-Hudson